The Charity Commission’s chief executive has said that trustees should accept “contentious or controversial” donations if they are in the organisation’s best interests.
Speaking yesterday at the Beacon Philanthropy and Impact Forum, David Holdsworth said he hoped the commission’s recently published guidance on accepting donations would inform a “receiving culture” in the sector.
Holdsworth said the regulator had an ongoing commitment to promoting philanthropy but that he feared donations being “withheld for fear of being rejected” and therefore adding to charities’ financial challenges.
Also speaking at the event, civil society minister Stephanie Peacock said philanthropy would feature in the upcoming Civil Society Covenant and that it was the government’s job to find new ways to make charitable giving easier and more rewarding.
Donations ‘withheld for fear of being rejected’
Holdsworth said the guidance published last year reflected the law that charities should choose to accept donations as a “starting point”.
However, he said it is for trustees to make decisions as to what is in their charity’s best interests and some may well conclude that they should not accept a philanthropist’s support.
“We wanted to support trustees to say yes to donations where, having carefully weighed up the relevant factors, it is in their charity’s best interests – even where it might be contentious or controversial for some,” he said.
“And I think that reminder is salutary at the present time, given the challenging financial context I set out earlier.
“The last thing I want to see on my watch at the commission is charities – including world leading arts and cultural organisations which have long benefited from philanthropic generosity – finding they can no longer operate successfully, because donations are withheld for fear of being rejected.
“So I encourage those giving – whether individual philanthropists or corporate donors – to continue to do so even when there may be those who disagree with such donations from a point of personal principle or conviction.”
‘Huge and vital role to play’
Meanwhile, Peacock told the event that supporting philanthropic growth across the country is “a really important route to generating more private capital that can deliver public good”.
She said this is why culture secretary Lisa Nandy recently committed to producing a place-based philanthropy strategy.
Peacock said the government’s Civil Society Covenant, due to be published in the coming months, reflects the government’s view that charities, social enterprises and community groups “have a huge and vital role to play in helping us deliver on this government’s missions”.
“Civil society groups can help make our streets safer, they can create opportunities for our young people, and they can reduce the burden on the NHS by supporting people to live healthier lives,” she said.
“And philanthropists, social investors and impact investors will have an important role to play in the covenant, when it’s fully established in the coming months.”
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